Sensex, Nifty trade flat; metal stocks rally

Domestic equities opened nearly flat in positive on Wednesday despite a fall in US inflation in May. BSE benchmark Sensex opened 24.59 points, or 0.04 per cent at 63,167.75, while broader NSE Nifty50 jumped 20.70 points, or 0.11 per cent to 18,736.85.

By 9.30 am, Sensex jumped 18.64 points, or 0.03 per cent to 63,124.52, and Nifty was flat, up 2.65 points, or 0.01 per cent to 18,718.80.

JSW Steel, Hindalco, Tata Steel, ONGC, PowerGrid, Adani Enterprises, Tata Motors, Adani Ports, Titan, NTPC, and Asian Paints were the top gaining stocks at the open.

On the other hand, SBI Life, Hindustan Unilever, Bharti Airtel, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, BPCL, Cipla, Wipro, Bajaj Finserv, TCS, and IndusInd Bank were the top losers at this hour.

Sectorally, the media index gained 1.03 per cent, followed by Nifty Metal at 0.98 per cent, Nifty Realty at 0.73 per cent, and Nifty Consumer Durables at 0.50 per cent. The IT index was the only sector trading in red during the opening session.

Broader markets outperformed in the opening session, as Nifty Microcap 250 gained 0.71 per cent, Nifty Smallcap 250 rose 0.42 per cent, Nifty Smallcap 100 jumped 0.39 per cent, Nifty Midsmallcap 400 climbed 0.38 per cent, Nifty Midcap 150 jumped 0.36 per cent.

Adani group stocks gained in early trade after a report stated that the conglomerate is in talks with lenders to refinance up to $3.8 billion of a loan facility taken for its acquisition of Ambuja Cements Ltd last year.